Chris Bowen questions how Joe Hockey can run the economy if he can't trust Treasury figures

The Federal Government has questioned how shadow treasurer Joe Hockey can run the nation's finances when he refuses to accept figures provided by Treasury.

Mr Hockey has cast doubt over the independence of Treasury's pre-election budget update which is released 10 days into the official campaign.

He says the Coalition will not be relying on the figures to frame its policy costings because they cannot be trusted.

Mr Hockey has accused the Government of trying to influence Treasury by preparing its own economic statement to be released soon.

"Quite clearly by flagging an economic statement, the Government is trying to bully the public service into a set of numbers that clearly do not properly represent the state of the budget," Mr Hockey told AM.

"Clearly the Opposition is softening up the Australian people for not releasing their fully costed and funded policies and softening up the Australian people for not telling the true story about the state of their budget plans," Mr Bowen said.

If Kevin Rudd doesn't go to see the Governor-General this weekend, there will be plenty of people willing to say afterwards that he should have done so.

The leadership is refreshed, party reform underway, the intervention in NSW announced, the carbon tax set to be abolished, and the asylum seekers issue in better shape than it was.

Barrie Cassidy suggests that any time now wasted outside a formal campaign can only erode the initial burst of support built on the departure of Julia Gillard and the emergence of an alternative to Tony Abbott.